Sunday July 17th, 2016 Matt McKinley

Theme:  "Crescendo" - P is changed into F. All key words go through spelling changes. 

23A. Brilliant bit of deception? : LUMINOUS FEINT. Luminous paint.

37A. Taciturn circus entertainers? : QUIET FLEAS. Quiet please.

 

66A. Panel judging phobic reactions? : JURY OF ONE'S FEARS. Jury of one's peers.

95A. Award ceremony side dish? : NOBEL FRIES. Nobel prizes.

 

113A. Gradually doze during a long meeting? : FADE BY THE HOUR. Paid by the hour.

 

14D. Charge in an Everglades water taxi? : ALLIGATOR FARE. Alligator pear. Avocado.

56D. "Charlie's Angels" actress on her sloop? : FARRAH SAILING. Parasailing. Two of the changes happen with the first word.

Matt, are you reading our blog? Great title! The more I solve/make Sunday puzzles, the more I realize how hard it is to find an apt title, esp with sound addition/deletion/replacement theme.

It's a fantastic feeling when you find out that you can make the themers intersect. Intersecting often makes filling easier. But it takes skills and luck to make the intersection happen. Matt also breaks the top.botto edges into 5/7/7 rather than our conventional four parts (4/4/5/5, e.g.) like the left/right edges. 

Across:

1. Concentrate : FOCUS

6. Impose restraints on : SHACKLE. Great entry.

13. Talladega sight : RACE CAR

20. Creamy white : IVORY

21. Assemble at a theater, say : QUEUE UP. Crossing its pluralized homophone CUES (9. They often precede entrances).

22. Like Hobart College : ALL-MALE. Unfamiliar with Hobart College.
 
25. Goes by : ELAPSES

26. Roadie's burden : AMP

27. Source of many med. terms : LAT. OK, Latin.

28. Toledo title: Abbr. : SRA. Notice the alliteration, a common cluing feature for foreign words. Also 98. Brest "but" : MAIS. Also  17. Roberto's residence : CASA
            
29. Unhurt : INTACT

30. Mississippi explorer : LA SALLE

34. Clemson U. is in it : ACC

36. Like a brioche : EGGY

 40. Joshua trees, e.g. : YUCCAS

42. Variety of tricks? : BAG. OK, bag of tricks.

45. Baseball news : TRADES. A few more baseball entries: 93. Switch-hitter with the most career homers : MANTLE. Eddie MURRAY has the same letter count. 117. League championship : PENNANT. And 84D. '60s-'70s bullpen star Sparky : LYLE

46. Skater Babilonia : TAI. And 49. 19th-century French composer Édouard : LALO. I learned both from doing crosswords.

48. Predicament metaphor : BOAT. I don't get this one, D-Otto.


50. "This came as no surprise" : I KNEW

51. Domain : REALM

53. Okay : SO SO

54. Sci. with biomes : ECOL

55. Muscle mag display : PECs

56. On the occasion of : FOR

57. "Breaking Bad" channel : AMC. Also 106. "Breaking Bad" drug : METH. Rich normally eschews the drug reference.

59. Mislead : THROW OFF

61. Crafty : SLY

62. Scotch and soda, e.g. : BAR ORDERS. When was the last time you went to a bar?

65. Passes out : FAINTS

69. Co-star of Boyer in "Algiers" : LAMARR (Hedy)

72. FEMA concerns : DISASTERS

73. Org. found in alleys : PBA. Here is Boomer with Walter Ray Williams, arguably the best bowler in the world. Boomer was attending Walter Ray's clinic yesterday, TTP. He'll bowl the Pro-Am this afternoon. PBA50 stops at Treasure Island (MN) every year.

76. Good place for views : OP-ED PAGE. Nice clue/answer.

79. Service inaccuracy : LET

80. T size : LGE

81. Many a Mideast native : ARAB

82. Florida's __ City : DADE

83. Lanford Wilson's "The __ Baltimore" : HOTL

85. An arm and a leg : LIMBS. Literal. Not PRICEY.

87. Cutting : ACERB

88. Crossword component : GRID

89. Influence : SWAY

90. "__-hoo!" : YOO

91. Makeup mishap : SMUDGE

92. Sequence-shortening letters : ETC
 
99. Eponymous tree, streetwise : ELM. Do you know most streets in Japan do not have names?


101. Triage priorities : TRAUMAS

102. Get to bubble over? : RE-BOIL. Fun clue for a blah answer.

105. Milne's absent-minded Mr. : PIM

107. Supergirl's symbol : ESS

108. Enlisted mil. rank : PFC

111. Not bright at all : IDIOTIC. Also 11. Folly : LUNACY


118. Its NYSE symbol is "X" : US STEEL. Gimme!

119. Commemorative 1999 Broadway revue : FOSSE. Got via crosses.

120. Part of Procter & Gamble : AND SIGN

121. Savings vehicle named for a sen. : ROTH IRA

122. Jacket material : TWEED. Not SUEDE.


Down:

1. Nike competitor : FILA

2. Reproductive cell : OVUM

3. Cooperation : COMPLIANCY. Compliance is more common.

4. Sch. near Providence : URI

5. Unit, for one: Abbr. : SYN. Unit is a synonym of "one"?

6. Sudden wind increase : SQUALL

7. Disco activity : HUSTLE

8. Pershing's WWI command : AEF. American Expeditionary Forces. We see ETO more often.


10. Actress Knightley : KEIRA


12. Capable, jokingly : EPT

13. Arctic coast explorer : RAE

15. Metallic noises : CLANGS

16. Like some promises, alas : EMPTY. Alas!


18. Oldest Baldwin brother : ALEC. Always dueling with paparazzi.

19. Others : REST. OK, and others (the rest).

24. Five Norse kings : OLAFS

31. Yellow fever mosquito : AEDES. Very irrational spelling.

32. Cioppino, e.g. : STEW

33. "Do I dare to __ peach?": Eliot : EAT A. Peaches are in season now. So good.

35. Bear young : CUBS. Shouldn't it be "Bears young"?

36. Online payment : E-CASH

37. Versatile Unilever brand : Q-TIPS

38. "Family Matters" nerd : URKEL

39. Dressing ingredient : SALAD OIL. My standard dressing is sesame oil & apple cider vinegar & this mustard combo.

41. Ducklike bird : COOT

42. "Almost anything can be improved with the addition of __": Jasper Fforde : BACON. Boomer agrees.

43. In the air : ALOFT

44. Enjoys the links : GOLFS. And 51. Links star McIlroy : RORY

47. Quite a lot : IMMENSELY

49. Martin's partner : LEWIS. Dean Martin. Jerry Lewis.


52. Sock ending : EROO
 
58. First act? : CREATION. Nice clue as well.

60. Crew members : OARS

62. Tupperware sound : BURP

63. Mail svc. in the sticks : RFD

64. Derisive sound : SSS

66. Burned-out : JADED

67. Unit of work: Abbr. : FT-LB

68. Neurol. readouts : EEGs

69. Ski resort centerpiece : LODGE

70. Split : APART

71. Doc : MEDIC

73. Make susceptible : PREDISPOSE. Not a fill we see often.

74. Canal transport : BARGE

75. Supérieurs des moines : ABBES. Went all French.

77. They often have matching caps : GOWNS

78. State of France : ETAT

81. Honda luxury brand : ACURA


86. No longer relevant : MOOT. Point.

87. Radio option : AM FM

91. Snow remnants : SLUSH

93. Cocktail with an umbrella : MAI TAI

94. Rio Grande city : EL PASO

96. Ice cream company founder : BREYER. Not EDY today.


97. Locale in a 1987 Cheech Marin title : EAST LA. Born in East LA.

98. Mars' pair : MOONS

100. Thick : MIDST

102. Kelly of talk : RIPA

103. First place? : EDEN. Not GOLD.

104. Firmly attach : BIND

109. Protection in a box : FUSE. Boomer and I fixed our garbage disposal without calling the repair guy. Yay! We just put a hex wrench in that hex-shaped hole and turned it back and forth a few times. Don't put potato peels in the disposal!

110. Street __ : CRED

112. UPS unit : CTN. What Splynter deals with daily. Keen eye on the grid pattern yesterday, by the way!

113. Natural coat : FUR

114. In Chinese, the "north" part of China's "northern capital" : BEI. As in Beijing. I mentioned this a while ago. Bei=North. Jing = Capital. Nan= South. So Nanjing is "Southern capital".

115. Terrestrial newt : EFT

116. Question as to technique : HOW?

C.C.

Saturday, Jul 16th, 2016, Steven J. St, John

Theme: SJSJ

Words: 70 (missing J,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 26

 SJSJ returns 7 weeks later with another Saturday puzzle, and with an identical grid, no less.  Again a crossing spanner and climber, with the triple 10- and triple 8-letter corners.  Did not try the first batch of 10-letter across answers, two of them having "?" clues, but some of the smaller fill that followed I correctly guessed, and that opened up the top quickly.  The last to fall was the lower triple stack, and that was due to a proper name that could have gone any which way.  The 15-letter center;

35a. Appeal for backup? : "CAN I GET A WITNESS~?" - witness my landlord/housemate as he sailed his solar-powered boat from Florida to LI, NY

The article is here

8d. Nearly weightless : LIGHT AS A FEATHER - nailed it with maybe 4 or 5 crossings

ON past 90° WARD~ :7P

ACROSS:

1. Highly charged individual? : SHOP-A-HOLIC

11. Castmate of Alda and Swit : FARR - M*A*S*H

15. Mass transportation? : POPEMOBILE

This one is even funnier - but just my opinion

16. Problem solver, at times : IDEA

17. One dealing in signs : ASTROLOGER - I was an Aquarius all my life, but now it seems that there is a 13th astological sign, Ophiuchus, which shifts me to Capricorn - guess I'll have to go back and check to see where it all went wrong

18. Not opt. : REQ'D - really good WAG on my part; optional or standard~?  But - "STD" didn't fit, so then I thought about college courses, and the 'a-ha' moment was upon me

19. Complicated : STICKY

20. " ... __ no fury ... " : HATH

22. Québec journalist's question : QUI - Frawnche for "who?"

23. Speed unit : MACH

24. Intersected : MET - like 35a and 8d.

26. Conversational skills : SEGUES

28. Leaking sound : SSSsss - like the sound from my front tire when the control arm broke free from the ball joint and busted the bead

29. Traditions seen in some circles : HORAS - another healthy guess after getting the consonants

31. Sudden and brief : FLASH - the clue/answer doesn't quite mesh for me....

32. Waters near the South Pole : ROSS SEA - more SSSss's

34. Towel ending : ETTE - Towelette

39. Natural salve : ALOE - gimme

40. Savanna outings : SAFARIs

41. Like snakes but not worms : SCALY

43. Skin product prefix : DERMA - I threw in DERM- and waited

44. Put down roots? : SOD - tried POT - that's 100% 33.3% correct

47. Old London ride : HANSOM

49. Nabokov novel : ADA - I tried ANA, and that's 100% 66.7% correct

50. "Crucifixion of St. Peter" painter Guido : RENI - the "R" was a WAG; the rest was perps - his Wiki, and the painting

51. Four-song discs, briefly : EPs

52. With 46-Down, world creator? : WALT - circumreferential to; 46. See 52-Across : DISNEY - Walt Disney World - never been there

54. Open-flame treat : S'MOREs - standard fare at our fire nights

56. One in a football quartet : DOWN - strangely, I tried "BACK", but there's only three of those, either defense or offense, according to this diagram

58. Pacific swimmer : COHO SALMON - the salmon part I got, and it took a moment for the rest to rise up from the depths of my brain

60. California's Mission Santa __ : INES - I would have gone with "Z" at the end, but it wouldn't jibe with the down answer "NZF"

61. Furtive question : "ARE WE ALONE~?"

62. Football that won't deflate : NERF - too bad the Patriots can't play with them....

63. Pays, old-style : WIRES MONEY

DOWN:

1. Twinges : SPASMS

2. Shade-loving landscape plants : HOSTAs - I am familiar with this plant

3. Public perceptions, as of politics or sports : OPTICS - meh clue for me

4. Lake catch : PERCH - another good WAG

5. Uninhibitedly : AMOK - did not see this until I started writing the blog

6. "Wow!" : HOLY MOSES - we have holEy Moses Cheesecake right here on Long Island - and not that far from my place

7. "... and that price is negotiable," in classifieds : OBO - 'or best offer' - and I am thinking about selling my Dodge on Craigslist for parts; $500 OBO

9. Intestinal parts : ILEA - nailed it, but spelled it with a second "I" initially

10. Altoids competitor : CERTS

11. Fragrant tree : FIR - similar to cedar, same family

12. Acceptable : ADEQUATE - the "Q"s in this corner made for a smooth solve

13. Numbers from the audience : REQUESTS - since I selected her for the last SJSJ puzzle  "by request" for a big-legged girl....

Charlotte~!

14. Salad roots : RADISHES

21. Lover of Bunnies, familiarly : HEFner, the Playboy Bunnies

25. '90s-'00s Angels outfielder Darin with three Gold Gloves : ERSTAD - C.C. may have more

27. Lowlands : GLENS

29. Monopolize : HOG

30. Town with the motto "Alaska Starts Here!" : SEWARD - looks to me like Alaska starts somewhere around Ketchikan, or at least Unalaska

32. Cambodian currency : RIELs - Just finished reading DeMille's 'Up Country', which I think mentions this form of currency

33. Fronts separate them : AIR MASSES

35. Got dough for : CASHED IN

36. 1959 Rod Steiger title role : AL CAPONE - mostly perps

37. Rarity in the voicemail age : NO ANSWER

38. Spanish aunt : TIA

42. "I just stubbed my toe!" : "YOW~!!!" - not the expletive that I usually use....

44. Fatherly advice? : SERMON

45. Score often requiring overtime : ONE-ONE - often in hockey, not soccer

48. Colorful flier : MACAW - had it, took it out, put it back in

50. Rich kid in "Nancy" comics : ROLLO - again, mostly perps

53. Actress Loughlin : LORI - oh, yes, now I remember - "Full House"; I threw in LARA first, and got no "ta-DA~!"

55. Respectful address : MA'AM

57. "Where Discoveries Begin" govt. agency : NSF - the website

59. Come up short : OWE 

Splynter

Friday, July 15, 2016, Samuel A. Donaldson

Title: Gunther Toody, where are YOU.

This Samuel A. Donaldson, has been with us since 2009 .  It is time for his annual LAT Friday, with his last one being a sound alike as well. He is on a roll with 3 NYT and a WSJ all recently.  With a background in tax law, you know he has a great sense of humor and this offering, where we replace the o͞o  sound with the ē sound does require imagination. The theme jumped out at me with the Tina Fey and knowing the T from ARTTEST  was correct. I love getting into the mind of our constructors and picture how a phrase like TEA FOR TWO (Tē for To͞o ) becomes a perfect reveal for this puzzle. As I have said often, for sound puzzles, the reveal is the 13D, and I loved this one.

There are also is much sparkle to the fill such as ART TEST,  THIS ONE,  VENTNOR,  ENSLAVE, ECHELON,  DUST RAG,  SET DATE,  KNEE PAD,  LAERTES,  I KNEW IT, COUNTS ON and IMPLANTS.  Let go to work.

17A. What Fey does in a mushy moment? : TINA MELTS (9). I eat lots of tuna melts.

24A. Ornamental ducks? : GARDEN TEALS (11). Garden tools are more needed than the gnomes.

36A. Model high schoolers? : FINE TEENS (9). Fine tunes has many meanings.

51A. Park statue that might have the real things perched on it? : STEEL PIGEON (11). Stool pigeons are very important to the police.

And the reveal:

60A. "No, No, Nanette" song, and a homophonic hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across : TEA FOR TWO (9).

Across:

1. Quads with wheels : ATVS. Four wheelers.

5. Perry of pop : KATY. So did I.

9. Two-iron, before golf club numbering : CLEEK. The whole SET.

14. Orator's prowess: Abbr. : RHEToric.

15. Der Spiegel article : EINE. And 65A. Der Spiegel rejection : NEIN.

16. Modicum : OUNCE. This was difficult for me as an ounce seems like more.

19. Forward : UNSHY. "I saw them come out and I saw that they were naked, unshy, beautiful, and full of grace, and I watched the naked women walk out of the sea.”― John Cheever, The Stories of John Cheever

20. Sandal feature : T-STRAP. Jimmy Choo.

21. Work the room : MINGLE.

23. Long time : EON.

28. Blanket in a belt : SNOW. Another hard one to decipher for me. Snow belt?

30. Beefcake subjects : HUNKS. Familiar?

31. One given at a wedding : VOW. One or two.

32. Polo of "The Fosters" : TERI. Don't know the Fosters, only the Fokkers.

33. Provençal possessive : SES. No grammar error this time.

34. 1974 #1 country hit for Dolly Parton : JOLENE.

39. __ Pie : ESKIMO.

42. Slowing, on scores: Abbr. : RIT. Ritardando (or rit.) is an indication to gradually decrease the tempo of the music (opposite of accelerando). Wiki.

43. Sacha Baron Cohen alter ego : ALI G. No politics here.

47. Home office, maybe : DEN. Do people have dens anymore?

48. Quite cold : POLAR. Vortex anyone?

50. Number on a clapperboard : TAKE. The name of this device used in filming movies etc.

55. Sylvan Tolkien creature : ENT. Talking trees.

56. Airport snags : DELAYS.

57. Dreaded : FEARED.

59. Hit lightly : TAP ON. The start of the two word fill.

63. Sudden jerk : START.

64. Way off the highway : EXIT.

66. Second chances : REDOS. Do over did not fit.

67. "__ arigato": Japanese "thank you very much" : DOMO. Did you all think of this song?

68. Where el sol rises : ESTE. The sun rises in the east in Mexico also.

Down:


1. "Draw me" challenge : ART TEST. Two words.













2. Selective words : THIS ONE.I really overthought this one. A second two word fill in the downs.

3. Avenue next to Monopoly's Water Works : VENTNOR. Anyone still playing Monopoly?

4. Headliner : STAR.

5. __ straight face : KEEP A. Two words.

6. Come down with a bug : AIL.

7. Big blowup cause : TNT. Cute cluing, not an argument.

8. Sycophants : YES MEN.  Again. Sychophant, literally "one who shows the fig,"

9. Has faith in : COUNTS ON. Again.

10. Sudden movement : LUNGE.

11. Subjugate : ENSLAVE.

12. Command level : ECHELON. "the upper echelons of the business world"

13. Exam marking aid : KEY. I remember working as a TA using these to grade multiple choice test papers.

18. GQ or SI : MAGazine.

22. HP product : INKJET.

25. South Korea's first president : RHEE. Or was it RYU? This MAN.

26. Cleaning aid : DUST RAG. Again.

27. Baltic Sea country: Abbr. : SWEden.

29. Airport connection : WIFI. Really tricky but simple once you see it.

33. Joe Cool, sans shades : SNOOPY. Hmm, this should be SNEEPY?

35. Exam for a would-be atty. : LSAT. Really an exam for a would be law student.

37. Surgical installations : IMPLANTS. I am not in favor of these but I could not resist a LINK.

38. The Emerald Isle : EIRE.

39. Text tweakers, briefly : EDS. Editors can be tweakers, but in the puzzle world they do much more. If you think a clue is bad, it may not be the original thought of the constructor.

40. Appointment : SET DATE. Again.

41. Patella protector : KNEE PAD. We wore them back in my wrestling days. 2 wds.

44. Ophelia's avenger : LAERTES. How cool, some Shakespeare. Also his father...
“I dare damnation: to this point I stand, / That both the worlds I give to negligence, / Let come what comes; only I’ll be revenged / Most thoroughly for my father.”

45. "Aha!" : I KNEW IT. I knee it?

46. Finish : GET DONE. Again.  Another thought came to mind. GET 'ER DONE.

49. Being handled by a broker : LISTED. Real estate broker; our closing business is doing very well as Florida real estate has recovered.

52. What Spanish Olympians go for : EL ORO. The gold.

53. Heading for : OFF TO. Off tee? Again.

54. Con beginning : NEO.

58. Former Education secretary Duncan : ARNE. No politics but a CONTROVERSIAL person.

59. Original D&D co. : TSR. Dungeons and Dragons

61. Outer: Pref. : EXO. The opposite of Endo.

62. Intent : AIM.

Well I know Sam aimed to please with this effort and I thought the theme was really tight with two "OO" and two "U" all transferring to well clued EE sounds. Some humor in the cluing/ fill. There was not much crosswordese, just real words and phrases. I had fun, and I hope you all did. Stop by and say hello Mr. D., as an active member of other blogs we would love to have your comments.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, July 14th 2016 Matt Skoczen

Theme: A lot of Toro! Circles reveal the word BULL four times in the grid.

17A. Music in 62-Across : PASODOBLE. Here's one for blog-background music.

39A. Performer in 62-Across : MATADOR

62A. Fighting venues suggested by this puzzle's circles : BULLRINGS

Ernest Hemingway would approve of this puzzle's theme. Bullfighting and bull-running have been much in the news in recent days.

Neat theme from Matt; once I realized what was going on with the circles they helped me fill in a couple of blanks. Nice that three of the entries cross-referenced the theme. If you don't get circles in your puzzle and you don't like cross-referential clues, then this one probably wasn't entirely up your street.

Let's see what else we've got today:

Across:

1. UV filter once widely used in sunscreens : PABA. New to me. Para-amino Benzoic Acid. Apparently caused allergic reactions in a number of people, so no longer used.

5. Word in Italian dishes : ALLA. Food! Here's spaghetti alla vongole.

9. Italian for "wasp" : VESPA. New to me, but as soon as I had the "V" I knew what it was. Those scooters do buzz around like wasps.

14. Lifetimes : AGES

15. Sign on for more service : RE-UP

16. One-__ chance : IN-TEN

19. Swedish-born Chan actor : OLAND. Thank you, crosses. I've never seen any of the Charlie Chan movies.

20. Cunning : ARTFUL

21. River through Kazakhstan : URAL

23. Dating letters : BCE. Before the Common Era.

24. Fisherman's knot : SNELL. Another new one to me. I don't fish, so ..

26. They may be independent : CLAUSES

28. Race town near Windsor Castle : ASCOT. I'm going to be staying in Windsor next Thursday night. I'll say hello to the Queen and her peeps.

30. People never seen in "Peanuts" : ADULTS

32. Word with smoke or kisses : BLOW

33. Arthurian address : SIR. The Arthurian knights. Here's "the" Round Table hanging in Winchester's Great Hall. I'll be there again on Saturday. My friend is 5' tall to give you some idea of the scale.

34. Very old thing : FOSSIL

38. Sylvan sticker : BUR

41. Thurman of "Henry & June" : UMA

42. More than just suggest : REEK OF

44. Salyut successor : MIR. The Soviet/Russian space station programs. There were six Salyut stations; the last one came out of orbit in 1991.

45. Snead has won three of them, briefly : PGA'S. US Men's golf's PGA Championship. Jason Duffner's wife famously took this picture of him the morning after he won the trophy in 2013.

46. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE. Never heard of this one, but then again I'm not a lawyer.

48. Work with a team : COACH

49. Misconception : FALLACY

52. Brown shade : UMBER

54. Brown address ending : EDU. Brown University can be found on the interwebs at www.brown.edu.

55. Bausch's partner : LOMB. Ray-Ban Aviators, anyone?

57. Opens up : LETS ON

60. Cover story : ALIBI

64. Levels, in Leeds : RASES. I used to live in Leeds as a kid. One of my earliest memories is being taken by my teenage sister to see "A Hard Day's Night" at the local cinema. I couldn't figure out why everyone in the place spent the entire movie screaming. The cinema was RASED in 1966 to make way for a shopping mall.

65. Comic strip canine : ODIE

66. Mind, with "for" : CARE

67. College near Albany : SIENA. Nailed it!

68. D-Day craft : LST'S. Landing Ship, Tank.

69. What it's risky to build on? : SPEC

Down:

1. Haydn sobriquet : PAPA

"Papa Haydn's dead and gone

but his memory lingers on.

When his mood was one of bliss

he wrote jolly tunes like this."

2. Food thickener : AGAR

3. Visual media soundtrack Grammy Award : BEST SCORE

4. Presently : AS OF NOW

5. Winning, with "on" : A ROLL

6. Med. nation : LEB. Lebanon; the only country with a tree on the flag.

7. Doozie : LULU

8. Brief summary : APERÇU. I try to keep these summaries brief, but usually I fail miserably.

9. Crook, e.g. : VIOLATOR

10. Phot. lab request : ENL. Least favorite clue/entry of the day.

11. They may be taken on "Jeopardy!" : STABS

12. British coin additive? : PENCE. Here's an old sixpence from the Queen's coronation year:

13. Chilean range : ANDES

18. Number for two : DUET

22. Highly in favor of : ALL FOR

25. Metz milk : LAIT. Metz sounds more German than French; as it happens it's only a few miles from the German border.

27. Letters with Arizona or Missouri : U.S.S.

28. Short for short? : ABBR.

29. Swing around : SLUE

31. "Wee" pours of Scotch : DRAMS. Cheers, Tin-man!

33. Mariners' home, familiarly : SAFECO. Seattle's Major League ballpark.

35. Pea variety : SUGAR SNAP

36. Apple variety : iMAC

37. Hit violently, as waves against the shore : LASH

39. Oscar-winning song immortalized by Nat King Cole : MONA LISA

40. "Mon __!" : DIEU

43. About .62 mi. : KILometer.

45. Discourse on verses : POETICS. Aristotle wrote this c. 335 BCE

47. $, for one : SYMBOL

48. Many a trucker : CB-ER

49. Causes of trembles : FEARS

50. Dwight's two-time opponent : ADLAI

51. First two-time Best Actress Oscar winner Rainer : LUISE. Crosses all the way for me.

53. Lille lasses: Abbr. : MLLES. Mademoiselles, milk and OMG today for our French lesson.

56. Pals : BUDS

58. Folklore fiend : OGRE

59. Wee part of a min. : NSEC. Nanosecond.

61. Big __ : BEN. Another excuse to post a photo from my last UK trip. Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge.

63. Brightened, with "up" : LIT.

That's it from me for today. I'm heading back to the UK tomorrow for a quick visit; to see family and eat as much curry as is humanly possible for one person without exploding. Here's a final sample from my last visit. Yum!

Steve

Annnnd ... here's the grid, circles 'n all.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016, Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Title: As Gouda As It Gets!

Gail and Bruce produced a far from cheesy puzzle. Not only does a type of cheese start each theme answer, but the cheese variety is only the first four letters of a word or phrase but is completely separate from the fill in any other way! Now that is clever and once again I chose to show the grid first to exhibit this clever device! Obtuse old me didn't see this sparkling gimmick until I saw the reveal of:

62. Photographer's request, and a hint to what's hidden at the starts of 17-, 26- and 47-Across : SAY CHEESE

Theme Answers:

17. Paperwork carrier : BRIEFCASE  - Also a stand-in for another French word

26, Detector a tiny heartbeat: FETAL MONITOR - FETA is not my first choice either

47. Asian bean dish : EDAMAME SALAD - High tech beavers?

Across

1. Targets of some bark beetles : ELMS - Wiped out many trees of my yute

5. Spreadsheet info : DATA

9. "The Blacklist" network : NBC-TV - Must every show about law enforcement include a beautiful, 20-something woman aiming a gun with both hands?

14. Sunbeam floater : MOTE

15. High-tech read : E-MAG - Some content is not so High-tech

16. Cliff dwelling : AERIE

19. Razz : TAUNT - "The Greatest" was great at this too

20. "Bewitched" witch : ENDORA - She called all these sitcom scripts "hack" but cashed the checks

21. Offers unsolicited advice : KIBITZES - Does anyone else drive with a "Parking Spot Assistant"? 

23. Overwhelms with sound : DEAFENS

25. "I'm getting to it" : SOON

31. Batting no. : AVG - Failing two out of three times at bat still gives you a fantastic AVG of .333!

34. Move among moguls : SKI  - My back hurts just watching

35. Develop a liking for : TAKE TO - I did TAKE TO this site years ago!

36. Ascend : CLIMB

39. Conniving : SLY

41. Exams for future D.A.'s : L-SATS

42. Obstacle on the links : HAZARD

44. Crumpet accompaniment : TEA

46. Levels, briefly : KO'S - Ali KO'ed many of those he taunted

51. Rent-__ : A CAR - You do have options

52. Starts to grow : SPROUTS

56. Facial indication of amazement : SLACK-JAW - Nobody did it better

60. Takes, as advice : ACTS ON

61. Heavenly explosions : NOVAE - One of those pesky plurals

64. Most desirable invitees : A-LIST - It ain't me babe! I don't move with the Big Cheeses

65. Lamb pen name : ELIA

66. Risotto base : RICE

67. Stained __ : GLASS

68. Workout count : REPS

69. Symbol on Texas' flag : STAR


Down

1. Journalist in a battle zone : EMBED - Can you spot the EMBEDDED journalist Sally Sara in this picture?

2. "Bonanza" co-star of Michael, Dan and Pernell : LORNE - A cowboy from Ottawa, eh?

3. Crete's highest elev. : MT. IDA - 8,058' high

4. Accompany to the depot, say : SEE OFF

5. Pours into a carafe : DECANTS - Seems like a hoity-toity word to me

6. Gp. with many specialists : AMA - I saw five different ones last year

7. Chore : TASK

8. AARP concern : AGEISM

9. Washington ballplayer : NATIONAL - The best player in baseball?

10. Unconventional '50s-'60s types : BEATNIKS

11. Cross, in Costa Rica : CRUZ

12. Point on a rake : TINE

13. Cat scanners? : VETS - Here's two inserting a scannable chip

18. Gratis : FREE - "At no extra cost" ain't FREE 

22. Heave-ho : BOOT

24. __ OFF 5TH: discount store : SAKS

27. Jaunty tunes : LILTS

28. Tropical hardwood : TEAK - A TEAK plantation in India

29. "Beetle Bailey" dog : OTTO

30. Diana of "The Wiz" : ROSS

31. Long (for) : ACHE

32. "The Impaler" of Romanian history : VLAD 

33. Sphinx city : GIZA

37. Voice heard in "California Dreamin'" : MAMA CASS  -  Her first group

38. March Madness concerns : BRACKETS

40. Supporters' votes : YEAS

43. Key with two sharps: Abbr. : D MAJ - What Don, Don and Glenn used for  this song

45. Sources of fine wool : ALPACAS

48. Traditional golf pencil's lack : ERASER

49. Footwear insert : ARCH - Lift didn't make it

50. Nanas, often : DOTERS

53. Start of a fitness motto : USE IT

54. Puccini opera : TOSCA - Premiered in Rome 116 years ago

55. "And wrinkled lip, and __ of cold command": "Ozymandias" : SNEER - Shelly's work of  hubris and mortality is one of the few poems that made an impression on me as a student

56. Unforeseen obstacle : SNAG

57. Lounge around : LOLL

58. Saucony competitor : AVIA

59. Corduroy feature : WALE

63. Peke's squeak : YIP